codegeassfanonfandomcom-20200216-history
Britannian Royal Navy
The Britannian Navy, more commonly known as the Royal Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the Holy Britanian Empire's armed forces. The Royal Navy is one of the major components of what is referred to as His Majesty's Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines, essentially the naval commandos, and the Marine Infantry, consisting of the naval Knightmares. Historically the Royal Navy played a major role in the expansion of the Britannian Empire and were the key to the Imperial Family's ability to dominate the world. Since the development of more advanced aerial technology, the Naval Service lost its former place as the premier branch of Britannia's military but still is the world's dominant maritime force. Just like the rest of the armed forces, the Royal Navy answers to the Emperor of Britannia, who is the commander-in-chief. The overall chief of the Naval Service is the Lord High Admiral, an office usually held by a member of the Imperial Family or sometimes a trusted high noble. This office is often ceremonial and is given to an imperial prince to add on to his reputation, but sometimes there are those that take an active role in leadership. Below the Lord High Admiral are the Chief of the Admiralty, Secretary of Naval Affairs, and Fleet Supreme Commander, the three naval chiefs which oversee the day-to-day management of the Navy. These three naval chiefs are responsible for long term strategic planning; administrative, logistical, and personnel management; and operational command of the fleets, respectively. The posts are typically held by nobles or distinguished commoners. The Royal Navy divides its vessels by region, with fleets for each ocean and stations in every Area of Britannia (i.e. the Area 11 unit of ships is called Station 11, and so on). Special task forces are sometimes organized at the behest of military and government leaders for specific missions. The Britannian armada has been downsized since the dawn of the 21st century, but it still maintains a large Surface Fleet and Submarine Service. Destroyers are the backbone of the Navy, while cruisers serve to provide heavier firepower and along with a few battleships, though the latter are mainly used in a ceremonial role. Aircraft carriers are used to provide Britannian vessels with air support, operating in conjunction with Britannian Royal Air Force pilots and air crews. The Navy's Knightmares also usually operate from aircraft carriers. Since the reign of Emperor Lelouch and under his successor, Empress Nunally, the Royal Navy has been gradually getting downsized as the new sovereigns demilitarized the country and promoted peace. History The founding of the Britannian Navy can be traced back to around 1603, when King Henry IX began the Golden Age of the Tudor Dynasty and expanded the Britannian Empire. His newly established Royal Navy played a major role in expanding the colonial empire. During the 19th century, the Royal Navy suffered its most infamous blunder: the Battle of Trafalgar, when Napoleon Bonaparte's combined fleet defeated the Britannian armada and was able to launch a land invasion of the British home islands. This remains the Navy's biggest humiliation and it strives to never allow such a large defeat to happen again. Over the next two centuries the Royal Navy was rebuilt and continued to function as the dominant world navy and was vital to the Britannian Imperial Family's ability to control its vast empire. By the 1990s, with the development of advance aerial technology and Knightmares, the Royal Navy generally lost its significance and was no longer considered the most important branch of the service as in the past. Its funding was cut and the fleet was gradually downsized, but not enough to allow any other navy to surpass it in size, and it nonetheless remained a force to be reckoned with. It demonstrated this during the Second Pacific War, during which it quickly defeated the Japanese fleet. The Royal Navy's primary focus shifted from expanding the empire to defend Britannian waters and to transport troops and military supplies between its colonies and homeland. Many larger surface vessels were decommissioned and replaced with smaller but more advanced ships, only a few battleships still remained and they were mostly used for ceremonial purposes. The largest ship class still in service were the aircraft carriers and cruisers, which were supported by destroyers and frigates. Organization Structure The Navy's overall commander is the Lord High Admiral, appointed by the Emperor and approved by the House of Lords (in theory, though largely the Emperor can make his own decisions without consulting the upper house of the legislature since it is assumed they will ratify whatever he does). The Lord High Admiral is responsible for overseeing the management of all aspects of the Fleet and often serves as an intermediary between the Britannian government and the Royal Navy. His role also includes making long term strategic plans, approving proposals from the Admiralty or Naval Affairs Ministry, approving promotions to high ranks, and occasionally personally leads the fleet in major engagements (though this is rare). A lot of the Lord High Admiral's duties were non-vital and could be done by any of the three naval chiefs, so the holder of the office often was an imperial prince just looking to add more prestige and experience to his resume and played little to no role in actual naval affairs, leaving the three chiefs to do most of the work. Below the Lord High Admiral are the chiefs of the three naval departments that oversee the day-to-day management of the Royal Navy. Those are the Admiralty, the Navy War Council, and the senior commanders of the fleets. The Admiralty is the senior command staff of the Royal Navy, responsible for long term strategic planning as well as the administrative staff work necessary to manage the organization; the Navy War Council liaisons with the government and serves as a strategic policy-making body with politicians; the the last body consisted of the admirals and other officers who actually commanded the fighting forces at sea. The latter was not as much of an actual organization as it was a general term for the commanders of the Royal Navy's various fleets and other formations. Answering to the three chiefs were the Commandant of the Royal Marines and the Knight Commander of the Marine Infantry, which managed all aspects of their respective branches. The overall commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy was the Emperor, although this was largely symbolic and he rarely exercised direct command over the Britannian Naval Service. Under the two-month reign of Emperor Lelouch, the Naval Service command underwent several changes. The Lord High Admiral was removed and his office was left vacant for the time being. With the rise of Empress Nunally vi Britannia, the Lord High Admiral's office was abolished and the three chiefs answered directly to the sovereign. Tactical organization At sea the Royal Navy uses the following order of battle: line (1–5 ships, commanded by a captain), division (6–30 ships, commanded by commodore), squadron (31–50 ships, commanded by rear admiral), flotilla (51–64 ships, commanded by vice admiral), fleet (64+ ships, commanded by admiral or higher). Naval units tend not to stray from this organizational structure too much, but occasionally special task forces and other unique units deviate from the norm. In some cases, units assigned to specific bases are referred to as "Stations", and these usually act as naval garrisons at different Areas of Britannia (i.e. Station 11 is the naval unit posted at Area 11). A station's ships could range in number from the size of a division to the size of a flotilla depending on the importance of the Area and ongoing events there. Royal Marines use a similar order of battle to the Britannian Army, though with smaller numbers of troops in each unit, and the largest formation being the division (about 10,000 men). The Navy's Marine Infantry, the Knightmare corps, operates outside of the normal command structure and has its own flexible organizational system. Order of battle *'Home Fleet' *'Pacific Fleet' *'Europia Fleet' *'Indian Fleet' *'South Seas Fleet' *'North Seas Fleet' *'Africa Fleet' *'Central Fleet' Training and education The initial course for recruits is aboard several ships that are designated as training vessels. There are also several officer training academies, most notably the elite Britannia Royal Naval College near Pendragon. The bulk of the ratings are commoners, while aristocrats and members of the Imperial Family typically get to attend the naval academies regardless of their ability. However, it was not rare for talented commoners to get into officer schools based on their abilities. Ranks ;Officers *Grand Admiral *Fleet Admiral *Admiral *Vice Admiral *Rear Admiral *Commodore *Captain *Commander *Lieutenant Commander *Lieutenant *Sublieutenant *Ensign *Junior Ensign ;Petty and warrant officers *Warrant Officer *Petty Officer First Class *Petty Officer Second Class ;Ratings *Leading Seaman *Able Seaman *Seaman First Class *Seaman Second Class Major Branches Royal Marines Fleet Air Arm Royal Marine Infantry Known ship classes *''Emperor Alec''-class aircraft carrier *''King Henry''-class cruiser *''Vanguard''-class destroyer Category:Organizations Category:Britannian Fleets